Rocket’s Tyler Erb(1) and Longhorn’s Ricky Thornton Jr.(20RT) have each added to the win totals of their respective brands in 2021
In the early days of NASCAR, fans and competitors often took sides in the hotly debated topic of manufacturer allegiance. The sport’s early followers weren’t simply fans, they were Ford fans, General Motors fans, or Chrysler fans. Even though I was named after Richard Petty, my dad was a die-hard Ford man. It wasn’t a matter of which driver would be his favorite, but rather, which Ford driver would be his favorite. After ‘The King’ retired and before I got into the coverage side of racing, I followed in those footsteps by rooting for top Ford drivers such as Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, and Ernie Irvan.
Today’s society may not be quite as brand loyal as back then and modern-day NASCAR rules that have essentially taken away much of the manufacturer’s identity have lessened those rivalries. But to a degree, they are still there.
Dirt Late Model racing has, to at least some degree, that same sort of rivalry. One of the biggest decisions facing competitors who are engaged in that form of racing is that of which chassis they will employ. Unlike NASCAR, the phrase ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ may not apply as far as fans of dirt racing are concerned. But make no mistake, competitors in that side of the sport are well aware of which chassis brand is performing the best and which teams are using what brand.
While there are several chassis choices on the Dirt Late Model market, two companies have clearly established themselves as the leaders, at least in terms of the national tours, to this point in 2021. This year, the Castrol FloRacing Night in America has joined the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series on the national touring schedule. West Virginia-based Rocket Chassis and Longhorn Chassis of North Carolina have captured 85% of the features contested on those tours.
Furthermore, those two brands have won nine of the 12 features that paid $10,000 or more to win either as part of a regional series or went unsanctioned up to this point in 2021.
And the battle for supremacy among the two builders at the highest level is a tight one. The Lucas Oil Series is currently led by Longhorn-driving Tim McCreadie while Rocket’s Brandon Sheppard currently shows the way on the WoO Late Models circuit. After three races, Jonathan Davenport leads the FloRacing tour from the seat of his Longhorn.
Longhorns have visited victory lane in seven of the 14 events contested so far on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series with Rocket taking six of those checkered flags. Shane Clanton scored one win for Capital Race Cars on the series.
Of 19 total features run under the World of Outlaws Late Model Series sanction, Rocket has captured eight wins with Longhorn crossing the finish line first on six occasions. Pierce Race Cars have two wins along with one each for MB Customs and Team Zero Race Cars.
Longhorn has been victorious in all three of the FloRacing Night in America races held to this point.
A Longhorn has won six of the events that have fallen outside of the sanctioning realm of the three national tours while Rocket had earned four such wins. Team Zero and Black Diamond Race Cars have one each of those races paying $10,000 or more to the victor.
To date, there have been at least 45 Super Late Model races either run under a national sanction or that paid $10,000 or more to the winner but were not sanctioned by a national tour.
All together, Longhorn has seen its drivers take 22 trophies from the sport’s biggest races in 2021 with Rocket capturing 18 pieces of winner’s hardware. Seven different drivers have won in Longhorns and nine pilots have steered Rockets to victory lane in those events.
Rocket and Longhorn may rule the roost nationally, but on the regional level each of the other brands has its area of dominance. A visit to any track in the Carolinas and Georgia will reveal multiple Capital Race Cars and Barry Wright Race Cars. East Tennessee sees many drivers, particularly in the Crate Late Model class, using CVR Race Cars. The Midwest contains examples of Pierce Race Cars and MB Customs. And brands such as Team Zero Race Cars, Black Diamond Race Cars, TNT Race Cars, and Warrior Race Cars can be found in several locations.
David Payne’s Capital and Austin Neely’s Team Zero are examples of regional drivers in brands other than Rocket and Longhorn
And as we all know, just one or two drivers in any particular brand suddenly having success will spur a wave of conversions by others to that brand. As a result, any of those mentioned above may just be one crown jewel or national touring series victory away from being the hot ticket.
While brand loyalty does give fans something to talk about, it may not have quite the same significance as far as the patrons of Dirt Late Model racing are concerned in comparison to brand loyalty in NASCAR. But without a doubt, it matters to the drivers and teams. And obviously, it matters to those who build and sell the race cars.
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